President's Updates

In addition to our regularly scheduled Christmas holidays, the University will close on December 26, 29, and 30, and January 2. These additional days will be administrative closure days. While in the past, three days were added, I have added January 2 at the recommendation of the President's Cabinet, the Staff Senate Executive Committee and the Department of Human Resources. I am grateful for the hard work of all our staff.

Except for essential services, the University will close at the end of business on Tuesday, December 23, 2014, and re-open on Monday, January 5, 2015. To all those who provide essential services, I also express my thanks and that of the entire University community for ensuring that necessary operations continue during the closure.

Also, please mark your calendars to attend our annual ecumenical Christmas service in the Mission Church on December 17 at 4:30 p.m. Following the service, we will hold our Christmas and Holidays Party for faculty and staff. I hope you will join with colleagues and friends for an evening of celebration as we ring in the season of peace and joy.

I invite the University community to participate in the Month of Remembrance. Throughout November we honor a long-held tradition in Christian churches when we recall our departed loved ones and pray for their peace. Here are some ways to take part:

attend the special Mass of Remembrance on Monday, November 3 at noon, when we celebrate the lives of loved ones and members of the University community who have died.

submit your personal prayer requests for departed family and friends through the online form. The names of your special intentions will be collected through October 29 and placed in the Book of Names in the Mission Church for remembrance until November 30.

attend the Misa en Espanol on November 6 at 8:00 p.m.

inscribe the names of deceased loved ones in the Book of Names in the Mission Church.

share photos and momentos of loved ones at the Altar of Remembrance in the Mission Church.

My hope is that the prayers we offer throughout the month bring a sense of peace and consolation to all of us who have lost loved ones.

Celebration of the Mass of the Holy Spirit

On Wednesday, October 8, 2014, at 12:00 p.m. in the Mission Church, we will celebrate our annual Mass of the Holy Spirit, followed by a picnic lunch on The Alameda Mall. At this special liturgy, Santa Clara will continue the centuries-old tradition among Catholic colleges and universities of calling upon the Holy Spirit to guide and bless us in our work throughout the academic year. Through our common prayer, we call on the Spirit of God to be with us in all our works, activities, and endeavors. While the Mass is a Roman Catholic liturgy, we appreciate the diversity of faiths within our community, and we welcome one and all to join the celebration.

To enable the campus community to attend the Mass, classes will not meet between 11:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. that day. Classes that usually meet from 11:45 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. will be cancelled. Classes scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. will instead begin at 1:15 p.m.